Every year, close to 10 million cases of domestic violence are reported in the US, the most common victims of which are women aged between 16 and 34 years old. Domestic violence is often hard to prove, as one partner’s oversensitivity may be the only real issue. But where this crime is really committed, then the victim is not the only receiver of violent acts, but the children too, whose mentality and emotions will be affected by every violent thing that they will hear and see.

Domestic violence includes forced sexual acts, emotional abuse, physical abuse, financial abuse and psychological abuse. All these acts are actually intended to gaining control and power over the perpetrator’s partner, to whom he or she may be married or just living with.

Thus, in cases involving domestic abuse, the perpetrator is always an intimate partner, who performs actions that will terrorize, injure, threaten, intimidate, frighten and humiliate the other partner until that partner losses whatever confidence and self-worth he/she has and becomes totally submissive to the abuser’s ways.

Some of the specific types of domestic violence include:

Emotional Abuse – Weakens the abused partner’s self-esteem through total indifference to his/her abilities or through continuous name-calling and criticism

Physical Abuse – may include slapping, hair-pulling, punching, forcing the other to use illegal drugs or alcohol, and so forth

While victims of domestic violence end up becoming withdrawn, problematic, uncertain and mostly embarrassed of his/her actions, children in homes where domestic abuses take place also become afraid, stressed, ashamed, confused and guilty due to their failure to protect and defend their abused parent. It will not be long too before these children start to develop problems in school and in their various relationships with everyone around them.

Anyone, regardless of professional standing, religion, educational attainment, race, financial status, age and nationality, can be a victim of this crime called domestic violence. Though afraid, victims will just have to conquer their fear to have their abusive partner brought to justice.